There! I said it.

It troubles me that the standard in America seems to be that we worship our mothers while it’s acceptable and normal to criticize our fathers. And if we’re not criticizing them outright, we emasculate them softly by finding it necessary to remind them of their roles of responsibility and leadership. Grown men need to be reminded of what God called them to do? When was the last time we reminded a mother to breastfeed her child? When was the last time we called for mothers to be more responsible to the family?

I know. I know. In our society, far too many men have run from their roles as dads. Those are the bad apples but when did a few bad apples define what an apple tastes like? I know many men who are good parents. Period.

My father was absent most of my childhood and when he was around, his absent presence did more harm than good. I’ve determined to be the opposite – the dad that I always wanted. To me, there is both a semantic and emotional difference between the titles of father and dad. A father seeds a child and bears the responsibility of taking care of her. A dad does that and additionally has a relationship with his child. The title, dad, evokes images of a child sitting in his or her dad’s lap.

I encourage those men who play the constant role of ‘parent’ to their children. I encourage those good dads who’s ill fate is to share the same title with deadbeat dads fathers. I encourage those men who are parents, simply stated. Just like our mothers, we need you and are thankful for you. Father’s Day is observed this weekend.

If you’re a father but haven’t quite been a dad, maybe it’s not too early – or late – to start today. Happy Father’s Day in advance.

Today is indeed Loving Day which marks the anniversary of the 1967 United States Supreme Court decision, Loving vs. Virginia, which struck down all anti-miscegenation laws remaining in 16 states citing “There can be no doubt that restricting the freedom to marry solely because of racial classifications violates the central meaning of the equal protection clause.”

So go ahead. Love on someone who is of another culture and/or ethnicity today. And tomorrow.

In other news,
I turned in my resignation today.
Yep.

I’ll be working as an Art Director at my new gig.
God is awesome in his timing.
Yay, God! You go!

As for today and the rest of the week…
I relax, reflect, and reset.
I’m digging this 40.